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An instructor could link the case to lean production principles and Kurt Lewin’s change management model, key reading materials on these theories are, namely,  Lewin, K (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science; equilibrium and social change. Human Relations 1(1): 5–41  Stewart, J. (2012). The Toyota Kaizen continuum: a practical guide to implementing lean. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Wickramasinghe, V. and Wickramasinghe, G. L. D. (2020). Effects of human resource management practices, lean production practices and lean duration on performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(11), 1467–1512.

This case was developed from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source included three face to face meetings with Mr CK in University Putra Malaysia (two meetings) and WSAE factory (Rawang, Malaysia – one meeting), respectively. Interviewed three workers at Rawang factory. The secondary source was taken from the company website and company reports.

Dr Wan, the Chief Executive Officer of WSA Engineering Sdn Bhd (WSAE) accepted the invitation from Small Medium Industries Development Corporation to participate in a Malaysian-Japanese Industry Cooperation program that focused on Lean Production System (LPS). Dr Wan was worried about Malaysia’s culture incompatible with Japanese-originated LPS. The case shares how the organization and behavioral change took place, for LPS buy-in. Successes and challenges WSAE faced in the 10-year journey of implementing LPS were elaborated.

This case was written for use in an operations management course, on the topic of lean production. It can also be used as a training material targeting the operation managers of a manufacturing company aiming to implement lean production or any change management process.

The distinct characteristics of slow tourism compared to mass tourism determine the differences between slow travelers and mass travelers. This transformation is essential for potential tourists to transition into slow travelers when promoting slow tourism to them. Can travel vlogs, a “fast” way of promoting, achieve such a “slow” transformation? To address this question, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the resonance theory and investigate the impact of resonance with slow tourism vlogs on potential travelers’ destination image and travel intention.

Through the distribution of online questionnaires on site, this study collected a total of 349 valid questionnaires. Subsequently, the researcher used partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The research findings indicate that cognitive resonance only positively affected cognitive image, while emotional resonance was positively associated with both cognitive image and affective image. In addition, it was observed that cognitive image and affective image played a positive mediating role between resonance with slow tourism vlogs and travel intention.

This research is pioneering in quantitatively validating the structure linking resonance, destination image and travel intention in the context of slow tourism. By validating the second-order structure of cognitive and emotional resonance, this study underscores the crucial role of resonance in shaping tourists’ transition toward a slow mindset in slow tourism.

This paper aims to examine the influence of supply chain management by assessing the relationship between internal and external integration and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owners’ Islamic practices in enhancing halal supply chain integrity (HSCI) and SMEs’ performance.

A total of 176 SMEs were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample was selected using convenience sampling from two major halal exhibition events in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The findings showed that supply chain integration (SCI), Islamic human capital and HSCI have a significant relationship with SMEs’ performance. It was also found that HSCI mediated the relationship between both SCI and Islamic human capital and SMEs’ performance.

SME owners or managers should be committed to developing the internal processes within the organization and strategizing to link these processes with the external processes to obtain the full benefits of integration. Furthermore, as the upper management, owners and managers must understand the supply chain challenges, priorities and practices thoroughly, as they are responsible for Islamic business ethics. They should work to provide support to increase religious orientation in the SMEs, as this would likely enhance all other factors.

This is one of the few types of research to use HSCI as a mediator in halal food studies in addition to improving SMEs’ performance.

The purpose of this study is to understand the factors influencing Iranian tourists’ behavioural intention to use consumer-generated contents (CGC) websites whilst browsing the web when it comes to travel planning, based upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) extension.

The total of 211 valid responses were collected through an online questionnaire survey. Data collected from Iranian online tourists were used to test the proposed research model by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method of analysis.

The results of the study indicate that perceived source credibility is the strongest predictor for behavioural intention. Furthermore, in this study, the most significant relationship is between perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use. However, the findings of this study show that perceived ease of use is unable to predict behavioural intention of Iranian tourists while using CGC websites.

This study provides clear evidence for the importance of additional key variables in improving the authors’ understanding of the Iranian adoption behaviour concerning CGC websites for travel planning purposes. Implications of this research can aid both academicians and practitioners towards a better understanding of tourists’ adoption behaviour when associated with the social media.

This paper adopts TAM and extends it with other variables, namely, perceived enjoyment, perceived source credibility and perceived risk. It examines their influence in the behavioural intention of using CGC for travel planning in the context of Iran for the first time.

Despite the importance of collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR), its influence on supply chain innovation capability (SCIC) and supply chain performance (SCP) has not been sufficiently examined. The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedence of SCP through CPFR and SCIC.

Through cluster and stratified random sampling, 286 responses from top managers of 1,574 Nigerian manufacturing companies were analyzed. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling with AMOS graphics.

The results show that SCIC has a full mediating effect on the relationship between CPFR and SCP. Specifically, CPFR has a significant relationship with both SCP and SCIC, and SCIC also relates significantly to SCP.

This study offers implications for manufacturers in developing countries in general, and in Nigeria in particular, by providing a guideline on how to improve SCP through CPFR.

The paper contributes to the limited studies on CPFR and SCP by extending this line of study into the realm of innovation capability and innovation. It integrates the social exchange theory and the dynamic capabilities theory to examine the collaborative processes of CPFR in the supply chain context. This study stressed the importance of boundary theoretical spanning by extending CPFR and SCP into the domain of innovation capability.

Training alone is not sufficient to enhance organizational effectiveness to a greater level because not all knowledge obtained from the training is properly transferred and applied to the organization. This study aims to investigate whether efforts invested by Malaysian manufacturers in employee training and knowledge transfer affect organizational effectiveness.

This study adopted a quantitative research design. The questionnaire developed for this study captured the training related to individual/managerial skills, the knowledge management process in place to capture and apply the knowledge obtained through training, and the organizational effectiveness. A closed‐ended online survey was sent to 1,000 members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) throughout Malaysia and 88 manufacturers responded. The unit of analysis was an organization.

The study found the following: training employees to acquire individual/managerial skills and process skills helps in improving organizational effectiveness; knowledge application and knowledge protection interact with individual/managerial skills training to improve organizational effectiveness; and knowledge acquisition, knowledge application and knowledge protection interact with process skills training to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Organizations are urged to devise training modules depending on the needs of individual employees, create an environment that will encourage the trained employees to apply their skills (knowledge), and develop policies to retain these employees.

This paper addresses an important and not so well researched issue. It analyzes the interactions between the dimensions of knowledge management practices and type of training in improving the organizational effectiveness of manufacturing firms in Malaysia.

This study aims to explore various factors that hamper halal certification in food service industries in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. World halal business as well as awareness in halal products and services consumption has been growing rapidly for the past few years. However, many industry players have not yet realized those huge potential concepts of halal business. Food service industries such as restaurants and caterings show less concern in putting priority on the issue of halal certification.

A qualitative data collection technique called nominal group technique (NGT) was used in this study. Four categories of stakeholders participated in this NGT to represent certifying body, consumers, industry player and government. Each category was given a fundamental question: “What factors are hindering restaurant and catering in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in obtaining halal certification?”

The authors found that through NGT, the authors can obtain top priority issues to be followed up by the respecting institutions which are concerned. The lack of socialization and information have led to the lack of knowledge and awareness. This is the most important issue addressed by the participants.

This research was conducted to collect data from various stakeholders in East Kalimantan Province of Indonesia. Considering the vast expanse of Indonesia and different level of development in each province, results of this study could not be generalized as Indonesia situation in general.

Halal certification in food service industry gains low interest from industries. This research presents hampering factors in various perspectives and offers some suggestions to overcome those issues accordingly.

It is hard to find research paper discussing halal management from the Indonesian perspective. This paper extends the use of NGT in halal management with the perspectives from many stakeholders in food service industries. It provides a relatively new finding from the Indonesian point of view.

The purpose of this paper is to add to the body of knowledge about attitude and intention to choose a Halal product. Despite the importance of the Halal cosmetic market for both producers and consumers, the existing literature focusses on Halal food products, and only a limited number of studies exist about Halal cosmetic products. This study assesses the effects of knowledge and religiosity on attitudes towards Halal cosmetics products, as well as the effect of those attitudes on the intention to buy the Halal cosmetic products. This study also investigates the existence of differences between consumers’ attitudes towards Halal cosmetics and Halal food products.

This study used a self-administrated questionnaire with closed-ended questions. The questionnaire was distributed using non-probability convenience sampling. At the end of data collection period, a total of 110 usable questionnaires from Muslim respondents over the age of 18 years old were used for further analysis. To assess the relationship between knowledge, religiosity, attitude and intention, a structural equation modeling technique was used. And to investigate the difference between attitude and intention for Halal cosmetic and Halal food products, the pair sample t-test were applied.

The findings of the study show that the relationship between knowledge and attitude is insignificant, but there is a significant positive relationship between religiosity and attitude. From the lens of theory of reasoned action (TRA), this study indicates that there is a positive relationship between attitude and intention to choose Halal cosmetic products. This study also found a significant difference between consumers’ attitudes towards Halal cosmetics and attitudes towards Halal food products, as well as consumers’ intentions to choose Halal cosmetics and intentions to choose Halal food products among Malaysian consumers. Moreover, the results indicate that Malaysian consumers have more positive attitudes and intentions towards Halal food products than towards Halal cosmetic products.

Because the sample of the study is limited to consumers from one country (Malaysia), it is suggested that the future studies choose their samples from consumers in different countries.

The results of the study give implication to firms competing in the cosmetic industry. Religiosity is one of the main factors that should be taken into account in promoting their cosmetic products. Also, as the relationship between attitude and intention to choose Halal cosmetics is similar to the relationship for Halal foods, marketers may try similar ways to promote both the products. However, the attitude and intention to choose Halal cosmetics is still lower than Halal foods.

The result of this study provides an insight for the Malaysian consumers to realize whether knowledge and religiosity have any relationship towards consumers’ attitudes towards Halal cosmetic products. The results also provide information to consumers that they are more likely to have stronger attitudes towards Halal food products than the cosmetic products. This study will be significant to the consumers, the importer and exporter, the producer and marketer and the researcher as well as the government.

This study is the first study which has assessed the antecedents and consequence of consumers’ attitude towards Halal cosmetic products in one model. Moreover, this research is among the first attempts to investigate the significant difference in Malaysian consumers’ attitude and intention between Halal cosmetic and food products.

Developing countries are heavily dependent on the resources and commitment of foreign providers to ensure successful adoption of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). The purpose of this paper is to describe the important role of buyer‐supplier relationships (BSRs) in the process of technology selection, acquisition and implementation.

A survey of 147 Malaysian manufacturing firms is the main instrument used in the research investigations and data analysis is carried out by the structured equation modelling (SEM) technique. In particular, the authors examine the impact on performance of different patterns of relationship between technology buyers and suppliers.

Although the majority of the firms reported improvements in their performance since the acquisition of AMT, closer investigation reveals that those demonstrating a closer relationship with their suppliers are more likely to achieve higher levels of technology and implementation performance (IP) than those that do not.

The paper only assesses the strength of BSR from the buyers' perspective and they may have limited experience of acquisition, whereas suppliers may have more experience of selling AMT. Also, the research is undertaken in Malaysia and the findings may be different in other countries, especially where the technology being acquired is not imported but sourced locally.

The findings relating to BSR, technology acquisition and IP have important implications both for customers and supplier firms as well as for industrial policy makers in developing countries.

The result of the research provides useful insights that are especially pertinent to an improved understanding of BSRs in the procurement of capital equipment, about which the current research literature is limited.